The Duncan Download Blog: Business Aviation Advice & Observations

Duncan Aviation's Wellness Program invests in various health initiatives to provide team members the best possible chance to be healthy, happy and more productive.

Wellness…. Corporate Health…. Health and Productivity Management….

These aren’t exactly common buzz words in business aviation, but more and more companies are beginning to understand and use them as they investigate solutions to seemingly insurmountable health care costs. But still, why would a company on the leading edge of business aviation care about Wellness?

Simply put, a successful company takes great care of their most valuable asset. At Duncan Aviation, our best asset is our workforce, our people… our family. We commit a significant investment into their well-being to ensure they have the resources available to achieve a high level of Wellness. As we care about them, they in turn take care of our customers and give them the best service possible.

A Vision of a Healthy & Productive Workforce

Duncan Aviation’s Wellness Program all started when then Chairman Robert Duncan and President Aaron Hilkemann had a vision of a healthy and productive workforce. The idea was with just a little effort and investment in our personal health, we could all be better, happier and healthier. And with that, the Duncan Aviation Wellness Program was launched in 1998.

Over the years, programs and staff have been added and we continue to invest in various health initiatives to give our team members the best possible chance to be healthy. From the beginning, our focus has not only been to have a positive impact on individual team members, but their families as well. By extending many of our wellness benefits to spouses, we’ve witnessed entire families change for the better with amazing results.

In my six years at Duncan Aviation, I can say with complete honesty, the care, investment and value that Duncan Aviation invests into each team member’s health and wellness is matched by very few others. As a Wellness Coordinator, I couldn’t ask for better support from a Senior Management Team.

Corporate Wellness Growth & Impact

It’s been very rewarding to watch the program grow and become better every year. It has won many Wellness awards and is recognized nationally as a Platinum Level Corporate Wellness Program by WELCOA (the Wellness Councils of America). But, by far what is the most rewarding for me is when an employee says, “Look what I’ve done for my health,” “look at how much weight I’ve lost” or “I’ve never felt better. Thank you for helping me.” Making a difference in an individual’s life is the best part of my job. That is exactly what wellness means at Duncan Aviation: making a difference in the lives our team members, showing we care and helping them because it’s the right thing to do. Oh and the icing on the cake… we’re saving money on health care costs and improving productivity.

Removing Barriers to Better Health

Because there are many barriers to not living a healthy lifestyle, we’ve removed as many as we can by offering a wide array of programs. Making it easy for everyone to be active and participate. Even with over 2,000 employees, we have 100% participation in our Health Education Program.

We’ve recently begun integrating our wellness goals with that of Human Resources, Benefits, Work Comp and Safety to enhance the employee experience for our team members. In the future, we will continue offering strong rewards for team members who live healthy by reimbursing health club memberships and Benefits premium discounts.

Duncan Aviation is a truly unique company. The experience you get here is unlike any other. No matter if you’re a customer or an employee.

Dayna Mattson is the Wellness Coordinator at Duncan Aviation-Lincoln, and is integral in developing a Wellness Culture. She works to educate and consult with team members on a variety of health topics and healthy lifestyle changes, in addition to managing the on-site fitness center. She has worked in aviation since 2004.